The investigation against HaRav Ovadia Yosef for his remarks
in his motzei Shabbos talk criticizing Education Minister
Yossi Sarid and comparing him to Amolek, try as one might,
can hardly be seen as a purely legalistic concern for the
rule of law. As much as we would like to believe otherwise,
this and other actions of the legal and police establishment
are carried out in a way that loudly proclaims that the
motives are deeply sullied by extraneous considerations.

National Religious Party MK Nachum Langental's recent
dramatic announcement of his intention to initiate
"revolutionary legislature pertaining to religion and the
State," aroused waves of criticism among the Torah-
observant. The proposal is to redefine the accepted
boundaries between public observance and nonobservance of
Jewish tradition.

Why do we find so many people who are unmindful about the way
they daven to Hashem, even though everyone agrees that
tefillah is of the utmost importance? Maran the
mashgiach, HaRav Yechezkel Levenstein zt'l,
(Likutei Yechezkel, pg. 77), answers this puzzling
question:

"We do not hold tefillah in high regard because we
neither realize nor understand the essence of
tefillah."

The champions of the Rule of Law in Israel, surely had reason
to celebrate on the day the Attorney General announced his
decision to instruct the police to investigate Shas leader,
HaRav Ovadia Yosef. His alleged violations included the
prohibition against slandering one's fellow; clause 4)a( of
the Order for the Prevention of Terror; clause 288 of the
Penal Law forbidding the offending of a public worker; clause
192 of the Penal Law which forbids making threats of
violence.